The New York Liberty beat the Connectticut Suns, 88-87, last night at MSG to get into the 2010 WNBA playoffs. (AP)
Madison Square Garden—The playoff picture in the Eastern Conference was not developed until the WNBA regular season concluded on Sunday. Three teams, New York Liberty, Indiana Pacers and Washington Mystics, were tied with identical records of 21-12 as the day began.
NEW YORK – The Liberty (9-10) ended its two-game home winning streak after being edged by the Indiana Fever (13-7), 84-81, in overtime on Sunday afternoon.
An announced crowd of 9,508 witnessed an exciting and hard-fought contest between two of the six tightly bunched Eastern Conference teams that are vying for a playoff spot.
Neither team, at any point, was able to move ahead of the other by double figures. The teams were tied 13 times and the lead changed hands on nine occasions. Each team had 82 offensive possessions.
Cappie Pondexter, who leads the New York Liberty in scoring, lifted the team to back-to-back home victories this week. The Liberty will look to make it three straight at home Sunday. PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES
NEW YORK – As the hoopla surrounding the decision made by LeBron James has started to recede, basketball fans can concentrate on again watching summer basketball. After three games on the West Coast and the WNBA All-Star Game that was played at the Mohegan Sun one day earlier, the New York Liberty returned to Madison Square Garden to begin the second half of the WNBA season on Sunday afternoon.
New York City aficionados of women’s basketball were as familiar with the players on the visiting Chicago Sky team as they were with the Liberty. Former Liberty stars Shameka Christon, Catherine Kraayeveld and Erin Thorn were wearing Chicago jerseys.
Also in a Chicago uniform was rookie Epiphnny Prince, a star at Rutgers University and the highest scorer in a high school game with 113 points. Christon has not played since June 11, when she suffered an orbital fracture. Another familiar face to women’s basketball fans is Sylvia Fowles, a member of the USA Basketball National Team, who was named the MVP of the All-Star game on Saturday after scoring 23 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
LatinoSports.com sportswriter Andrew Rosario believes we are witnessing the birth of a fraud thanks to LeBron James' latest move. PHOTO COURTESY OF NIKE
NEW YORK – LeBron James will now be known as “LeFraud James,” and this has nothing to do with the fact that he didn’t sign with the New York Knicks or the New Jersey Nets.
The minute he announced that he would hold his press conference in Connecticut, everyone knew he would not be returning to Cleveland, his hometown and the only team he’s played with since coming out of high school.
The only question was would he sign with Miami or Chicago. With the Bulls signing Carlos Boozer, it appeared the pendulum had swung in favor of the team he idolized as a kid.
But no, “LeFraud” took the easy way out by signing with Miami and Dwayne Wade to go along with Chris “Dreadless” Bosh.
San Antonio Spurs Versus Los Angeles Clippers in Mexico City Preseason Game -
NEW YORK, July 15, 2010 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that preseason basketball will return to Mexico when the San Antonio Spurs face the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 12 in Mexico City. This marks the NBA’s 17th visit to Mexico City and the league’s 19th game in Mexico overall, the most NBA matchups held in any country outside the United States and Canada. Game tickets are available for purchase starting Friday, July 16 through Ticketmaster.
“NBA Mexico Game 2010 and the appearance of NBA teams in Mexico for the 19th time shows the league’s ongoing commitment to grow the game of basketball and engage fans in the region,” said Raul Zarraga, Mexico’s Country Director for the NBA. "We arethrilled that with the support of our partners, including HP and game promoter Ocesa, our local fans can experience NBA excitement live.”
NBA Mexico Game 2010 presented by HP will give fans in Mexico the chance to see two exciting teams and some of the league’s biggest stars compete in the Palacios de los Deportes. The four-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs currently feature two-time MVP Tim Duncan and international All-Stars Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginóbili (Argentina). The Los Angeles Clippers are a young team on the rise, whose lineup currently features the first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft Blake Griffin, All-Star point guard Baron Davis and 2010 All-Star center Chris Kaman.
With the NBA Mexico Game 2010 presented by HP, the NBA is making a concerted effort to bring a marquee event to the Olympic Sports Festival that Mexico’s Sport’s Ministry, CONADE, is holding On Oct. 9-17 in Mexico City as part of the bicentennial celebration of Mexican independence. In addition to the oncourt NBA action, the league and its game partners HP, Corona, Gatorade, Sprite and Wonder will conduct community events and programs to bring the game closer to fans.
“HP is a leader in technology innovation with an incredible range of computers for every kind of user,” said Carlos Cortés, GM for HP Personal Systems Group Mexico. “We are pleased to present the NBA Mexico Game 2010, and we are sure that the fans will be amazed with the deployment of HP technology that they will see in the arena and through the game’s TV broadcast.”
With NBA Mexico Game 2010 presented by HP, the NBA has announced five preseason games that will be played outside the United States and Canada this October. The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New York Knicks will play a series of preseason games this October in Barcelona, London, Milan, and Paris as part of NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS™.To date, the NBA has staged a total of 98 games outside of the U.S. and Canada in 32 cities in 17 countries and territories.
The league first visited Mexico City in 1992, when the Dallas Mavericks defeated the San Antonio Spurs. Mexico became the only international country other than Japan and Canada to ever host an NBA regular-season game, when the Houston Rockets defeated the Dallas Mavericks in front of the sold-out Palacio de los Deportes on Dec. 6, 1997 in Mexico City. In October 2009, the NBA staged its second game in Monterrey and the 18th game in Mexico overall.
For additional information about NBA Mexico Game 2010 presented by HP, please visit www.nba.com/enebea.
About the NBA in Mexico
For the 2009-2010 season, NBA games reached nearly every household on a weekly basis via television and broadband. NBA postseason games were available in 50 Cinépolis Theaters across 37 cities in Mexico for the first time ever. In addition to 18 games that the NBA has staged in Mexico since 1992, the most NBA games held in any country outside the United States and Canada, the league also reaches fans and consumers through regional NBA merchandise licensees. This year, for the first time, Panini launched collectible NBA stickers and trading cards, which are currently sold – along with other NBA merchandise – at retail outlets throughout the country.
Why the Second Round of the NBA Draft is a Good Time for All
The Knicks selected Andy Rautins (l.) of Syracuse and Landry Fields of Stanford early in the second round, which LatinoSports.com's Oren Vourman belives is one of the best part's of the NBA Draft experience. PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES
NEW YORK – For the casual fan, the NBA Draft is a place to mock and mingle, to wear their team’s jersey in public without fearing public condemnation (I call it Clippers Appreciation Day), spend money on draft day caps they won’t wear the following season and to sit as still as they can while weary-eyed GMs submit the names of will-be saviors in five minute intervals.
In other words: the NBA Draft is a five hour preview, and sitting through it takes concentration skills that mere mortals simply do not possess.
This is not to say that beyond the pageantry, mindless speculation and endless Kwame Brown jokes that the NBA Draft isn’t fun.
Maryland's Greivis Vasquez, a Caracas, Venezuela native, is bringing his big smile and flashy guard play to Memphis. He addressed the media Thursday night after being taken with the 28th overall pick. PHOTO BY OREN VOURMAN
NEW YORK – Few players got a louder ovation during Draft night than the Venezuelan sensation, Greivis Vasquez.
“It was unbelievable,” he said of the raucous cheers he received inside the Theater at Madison Square Garden. “I love the fans and my family and everybody cheering for me. That’s something that I do appreciate a lot, and I’m thankful about that.
“I will never let the fans down and I was very thankful, and I was shocked,” Vasquez added. “I mean, the fans were rooting hard for me and that means a lot.”
The top three picks of the 2010 NBA Draft weren't much of a surprise, writes LatinoSports.com Associate Editor Bobby Ciafardini. PHOTO COURTESY OF NBA
NEW YORK – The NBA Draft has finally arrived, and although analysts have pegged this summer’s installment as a two-man party, don’t sleep on the 2010 edition of the league’s glimpse into the future.
LatinoSports.com was on the scene for the annual NYC extravaganza. Here’s an insider look at some of the latest news and notes.
As projected, the Washington Wizards selected John Wall with the No. 1 pick. He is the first Kentucky player in history to be taken No. 1. The Philadelphia 76ers followed with national player of the year Evan Turner from Ohio State, and with the third pick, the New Jersey Nets selected 18-year-old Derrick Favors from Georgia Tech.
NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant and the Lakers defended their crown Thursday night, edging the Boston Celtics in an epic Game 7. PHOTO COURTESY OF NBA
The Los Angeles Lakers have won their 16th NBA championship, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 Thursday night in Game 7 of the NBA finals. Kobe Bryant scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting while winning his fifth title with the Lakers, who repeated as NBA champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2000-02. Ron Artest added 20 points for the Lakers, who shot terribly while trailing for most of the first 3 1/2 quarters. Yet they reclaimed the lead midway through the fourth quarter and hung on with big shots from Pau Gasol and Artest. With their fifth title in 11 seasons, the Lakers moved one championship behind Boston's 17 banners for the overall NBA lead.
With their backs to the wall, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers responded Tuesday night. Game 7 is Thursday night. PHOTO COURTESY OF NBA
Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers emphatically extended the NBA finals to a decisive seventh game with a 89-67 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 on Tuesday night.
Ron Artest added 15 points for the Lakers, who stared down elimination by jumping to a 22-point lead during a dazzling first half. With remarkable ease, the defending champions stretched the finals to the limit for the first time since 2005. A champion will be crowned Thursday night at Staples Center.
